By: Dylan Sikes - AllPennyStocks.com News

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Mobile payment systems are still meeting some resistance from consumers worried about potential security issues that could leave them extremely vulnerable to divulging personal information to criminals, but the industry is gaining some momentum overall. Majors have initiatives in place to grow their mobile payment offerings as quickly as possible. eBay Inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY) demonstrated this recently by spending $800 million in cash to buy mobile payment company Braintree. American Express (NYSE:AXP), Visa (NYSE:V) and MasterCard (NYSE:MA) are now working together on a new platform where users will only have to enter a payment “token” rather than a complete credit card number to make purchases in an effort to beef-up security in the industry. This all plays well for Calpian Inc. (OTCQB:CLPI), a Dallas-based electronic commerce company with operating centers in Georgia and New York, as well as in India through its subsidiary Money on Mobile. The company offers a suite of payment processing services and related software, including credit and debit card processing, ACH and mobile payment solutions.

Of particular interest is the Money-on-Mobile service through its Indian subsidiary that has been demonstrating strong growth, positioning itself as the largest mobile payments company in the country. Calpian first invested in Mumbai-based Money-on-Mobile in March 2012, with the company doubling in size since then. A growth driver is uncovered in part through a 2012 study by MasterCard, which showed that more than half of Indian citizens don’t have a bank account. At the same time, the Telecom Regulatory Authority reports that there are approaching one billion cell phone subscribers in the country, making India consumers an attractive target for pre-paid mobile solutions.

The Money-on-Mobile service in India is now supported by roughly 160,000 retail locations, since adding more than 6,3000 stores from July 31 to August 31. The company says that more than 67.5 million unique phone number customers have accessed Money-on-Mobile from inception, including 5 million in August alone. During August, total transaction volume topped 933 million Indian rupees (or US$14.2 million at exchange rates at the time).

On Wednesday, Calpian said that it has broadened its footprint in India through direct bill payment integration agreements with five Indian utility providers covering more than 25 million consumers nationwide. By integrating the Money-on-Mobile solution, the utility companies will allow their customers to make monthly bill payments using their cell phones through the network of retail stores.

Going forward, the market seems to be there for Calpian to capitalize upon and Wall Street will be looking for the company to turn back towards the black with its books. Calpian posted a net loss of $3.49 million, or 7 cents per share, in the second quarter on revenue of $6.23 million. Shares have been on a slow slide in 2013, fading from over $2.00 early in the year to lows of $1.20 in September. Shares have pulled back up some, essentially trading between $1.30 and $1.40, including holding $1.30 today, although no shares have changed hands.

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